Interview with Author – J J Sorel

About J J Sorel:
Born in Melbourne, Australia, I come from a professional dance background. I began writing my first book in 2009, a time-travel romance set in the Regency period.
50 Shades of Grey, was the first contemporary romance book I’d ever read. Up to that point, I’d spent my entire reading life buried in 19th century books, like Jane Austen, the Brontes, George Eliot just to name a few. Georgette Heyer and Daphne du Maurier were as modern as I got.
But then, one day, I picked up 50 Shades of Grey and couldn’t put it down. Impressed by their heart-felt, down to earth portrayal of love and sex, I quickly developed a voracious appetite for contemporary romance books. I was so inspired by the genre, that I decided to explore that world as a writer.
After completing a certificate in Writing Romance with the Australian College of Journalism I embarked on writing three books. All of which are still sitting on my computer.
Then Aidan Thornhill entered my imagination and came alive on paper. From that moment, like all emotional love stories, nothing else mattered. I fell in love. And was compelled to write, almost in a frenzy, every day without fail.
I am presently working on my second installment of the Thornhill Trilogy, Enlighten, which I plan to publish by February 2018.

What inspires you to write?
I love the escape. I also love creating characters that are seductive, but a little broken, that, through love, heal. And when a seriously sexy man like Aidan Thornhill comes along, as he did thanks to my imagination, it's exciting in every sense of the word.

Tell us about your writing process.
I write 3 to 4 hours in the morning. I know it's not as sexy as writing at midnight, but I have noticed I’m more perspicacious in the mornings, with a nice big cup of coffee in hand. Before starting a story, I spend many hours musing. Once I have a shape to my characters, I write a mental and physical profile of them. Then, I put together an outline of the story. Generally, I like to write my outline on a pad, the old-fashioned way. It's nice and slow, giving me a chance to pause and think. I also like to do this on a beach, if possible. I do like to improvise. Once I have the outline, and I’m full flight into the story, something will happen that I didn't plan, and if I like it when reviewing my work later, it stays. This happened a lot in Entrance. Mixing both outline and ‘seat of the pants’ technique seems to suit me well. One provides a foundation, while the other offers a surprise. When I was a professional dancer, I would perform solos that were choreographed with space for improvisation. It kept it exciting and fresh. Maybe that's the same with writing. I hope so.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I occasionally read the dialog out loud.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write every day, even if you don't feel like it. Just babble away on the keyboard. Don't expect to make a fortune. Do it because you love it.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
When my manuscript was knocked back by traditional publishers I decided to self-publish. I loved the story, and Aidan and Clarissa too much to leave them buried in my computer. I have three other books already doing that! For new writers, it's important not to allow a knock-back to stop you from pursuing your dreams.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will be more and more self-published works. The system has made it easy to do it yourself, and the royalties are higher.